Surprised no thread has been started for the NLS... so here it is. Good start for the Angels in this campaign with 2 wins and a draw on the road. Opening game saw what was a surprise (to some) a 3-1 win away at Weymouth. This was followed by a 1-1 draw at Slough, followed up by Tuesday's win 2-1 at Kent rivals Dover. The Angels host their first match of the new era (the dreaded plastic pitch has been installed) on Saturday as they welcome Hampton & Richmond to Longmead. Latest news from the club is that Femi Akinwande has already left the club 'by mutual consent' after only 3 games into the season.... let's hope that new Angels' boss Jay Saunders has another striker lined up before Saturday as their only current striker (Louis Collins) is only about 3'6" and will need some help up front.
From an Essex perspective all three teams are in the top ten, with Concord having the best start with seven pts from 3 games, Braintree and Chelmsford both sit on four points.
Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. 2 wins and a draw away. Then comes Saturday... at home... new pitch, new floodlights, new hope for the season ahead. BANG! Angels 1 Hampton & Richmond 4. It looked like the Angels squad had never met before kick off in what has to be one of the most one-sided first halves I've ever witnessed at Longmead. It was only 0-3 at half-time but could have been double figures for the away side. Not a lot else to be said about this game. Definitely one to forget. Elsewhere, Ebbsfleet maintain their 100% record with their 4th win in a row beating new boys Farnborough 4-2. And with the same scoreline, Havant & Waterlooville saw off last season's NL whipping boys Dover. At the other end of the table, Weymouth cannot buy a win for love nor money as they travelled to Essex to face Chelmsford in the hope that they could kick start their season... nope, set off home afterwards with their tails between their legs after being beaten 3-1 by the Clarets - the fourth game in a row where the Terras have conceded 3 and already have a GD of -8.
4 games in and I'm already thinking Weymouth are doomed to be dropped. We certainly look better than we did at the end of last season so far, which means we'll be in a relegation scrap by the end of the season.
On paper the appointment of David Oldfield looked like a shrewd move. In practice it's been a disaster, should have kept Brian Stock.
Hello. Who wants a league table? It's in two lopsided bits. Personally I'm not in favour of calling for managers to be sacked but Andy Hessenthaler must be sweating a tad.
Great start to the season by Worthing in their first season at this level. Especially with Jake Robinson doing his ACL 20 minutes in to the season. Went 2-0 to Cheshunt inside 20 minutes yesterday but turned it around and were 3-2 up by halftime. Still undefeated.
I was at our opening game at Worthing, has there been significant investment? Some of our fans were saying that they'll be up there come the end of the season...
Yeah the club has had some money pumped in, but it’s hard to say it’s not being done the right way. It’s certainly not a Billericay situation. The owner was a youth team player who was paralysed from the neck down in a car crash when he was 17. He eventually decided to pump some of the compensation money in to the club because it was on deaths door. So whilst he’s probably spent 7 figures on the club he’s put a lot of money in to starting an academy, doing up the bar, improving the infrastructure etc. With a steady stream of players heading to the NL/FL & big crowds for the level it’s obviously working. It’s hard to tell how well we’ll do but after being top of the Isthmian league in both cancelled season and then strolling away with it last year there’s certainly cause to be optimistic. I’m a relative newcomer to non-league football but I’m expecting Worthing to fall away slightly and probably finish around 10th.
I think we've shown that we can take it to teams with good football, however we sometimes lack the physicality and nouse that sides at this level have. Been a couple of games such as Dartford and Weymouth that we've won but could've been buried in after 20 minutes due to poor starts. Also I think that once winter rolls around we'll begin to suffer, as the poorer pitches will prove a challenge. Nonetheless I'm absolutely delighted with the start we've made, so as long as there's no threat of relegation that'll do me. Anything more, such as a playoff push or cup Run is a bonus
Unless they suddenly run into abysmal form, I cannot see Ebbsfleet not going up automatically. They have looked class and have blown teams away. Us and Welling were in huge trouble towards the end of last season and here we are 8 games in right in the playoff race. I think the playoffs would be our ceiling in truth, but I think we'll fade away into mid-table before to long. Would still be better than last season though, so I wouldn't complain
JADEN CROWHURST GOES OUT ON LOAN Our promising Wing Back Jaden Crowhurst, who made 2 first team appearances this season after a full pre season with the first team, goes out to Tonbridge Angels for a month.
Dover beat 8th placed Braintree yesterday who didn't impress. 7 points out of the last 9 & still only 15th It looks odds on Ebbsfleet & Havant for the top 2. The quality of the rest is debatable
O.k. guys, Shots are at Chelmsford next week. CB Dave Winfield came through our youth system ,but had his head turned by the EFL. He’s now captain at a seemingly successful club, albeit a level below, so will be keen to win. What are Chelmsford like, has our dreadful team any chance?
The difference between the National league and National South is huge, even poor teams at this level should easily beat part time National South teams.
I really should've kept my mouth shut My shambles of a team just went out the cup to a step 3 team, and we were lucky we didn't lose by more.
